The Odyssey of Homer

This excellent eight-part audio series, a Peabody Award winner, was originally broadcast by the National Radio Theatre some 20 years ago. Now it makes a wonderful multivoiced companion to Yuri Rasovsky's Seven Classic Plays. The adaptation and writing are superb, the sound effects and music are layered in subtly and effectively, and the fine acting humanizes a challenging classic. To conclude each episode, scholars add discussion and insights that remove cultural barriers to a fuller appreciation. The episodes have a richness that invites a second hearing. The series is a rare and wonderful blend of storytelling, drama, and learning. Blackstone deserves credit for its realization that documentaries and dramas from various radio archives can find new life in the audiobook format. G.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine